5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

If you're frustrated with the number on the scale, it could be one of these factors.

Eat This, Not That! Editors

January 4, 2015

5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

If you're frustrated with the number on the scale, it could be one of these factors.

Eat This, Not That! EditorsJanuary 4, 2015

For today’s blog, we’re proud to present you a taste of The Doctor’s Book of Natural Health Remedies. Author Peg Moline researched just about every ailment out there and surveyed leading doctors about their favorite natural cures. Here’s a sneak peak at what they have to say about why you’re not losing weight.

You’re Sensitive

Begin by eliminating food sensitivities before dieting—several recent studies suggest a connection between childhood obesity and food allergies. “When you eat things to which you’re sensitive or intolerant, you get an increase of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, so you literally get a high,” says Pamela Wartian Smith, M.D., codirector of the master’s program in medical sciences at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, who explains that this reaction can result in cravings for the very foods we should avoid. Food sensitivities may also lead to inflammation and water retention. To compound the problem, over-the-counter antihistamines bolster appetite and dull energy, studies show.

You’re Stressed Out

Chillax! Chronic stress prompts a surge in the “fight or flight” hormone cortisol, which can tear down muscle fiber, impair blood sugar metabolism and boost the brain chemical neuropeptide Y, which sparks cravings, says Smith. Meanwhile, losing just an hour of sleep each night for three days can prompt a surge in the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, and a slump in the hormone leptin, which tells us when we’re full, says Norfolk, Va.-based clinical psychologist Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., coauthor ofThe Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan.Deep sleep, on the other hand, fuels production of the fat-burning human growth hormone (HGH).

You’re Toxic

Put down that water bottle! A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to toxins like bisphenol A (BPA), organophosphate pesticides and phthalates may be fueling weight problems. “We are starting to see a lot of human studies showing an association between the presence of chemicals and obesity,” says University of California, Irvine, researcher Bruce Blumberg, Ph.D., who coined the term “obesogen” to describe such toxins. A 2011 Harvard study found that adults with the highest concentration of BPA in their urine had significantly larger waists and a 75% greater chance of being obese than those in the lowest quartile. Other research suggests exposure to pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may impair metabolism. “They have been shown to poison the mitochondria so it cannot burn fuel,” says Walter Crinnion, N.D., chairman of the environmental medicine department at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Phoenix. “Fuel that is not burned turns to fat.”

Your Thyroid is Sluggish

Natasha Tuner, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in Toronto and author ofThe Hormone Diet,estimates that nearly one third of all men and women have a thyroid that is operating in a suboptimal range, often brought on by stress, a genetic predisposition, working out more than an hour a day or restricting calories too much (less than 1,700 a day for women; 2,000 for men). “The thyroid affects the metabolism of every single cell in the body,” Turner says. “You can diet until you are blue in the face, but if your thyroid is out of whack, you will not lose weight.” Telltale signs of a sluggish thyroid include eyebrow thinning, constipation, weight gain, dry skin and irregular periods.

You’ve Hit a Hormonal Rut

According to a 2011 study in theNew England Journal of Medicine,restricting calories and losing body fat can wreak havoc on insulin, leptin, ghrelin and other hormones, prompting a surge in hunger and a slump in metabolism. This typically occurs about 10 weeks into a weight-loss program and can last for more than a year, even after the diet is abandoned. Dieting also prompts dopamine levels to fall, squelching motivation.